Mickey

As part of my recent exhibition, The Tennis Ball, at Union Coffee House, I held a dog friendly viewing. I took portraits of the wonderful hounds, and here they are. We only had three dogs – Narla, Evie, and Mickey – but they were wonderful models, and will pose for a treat.

On 29th September until 13th October, I will be showing the culmination of a year of collecting tennis balls. Images of discarded and destroyed tennis balls that is!

Hosted at the Union Coffee House, we will be holding a one off special dog friendly viewing on 6th October.

Visit Eventbrite to book your ticket and bring your pet pooch (or just come to meet all the other pet pooches).

Google Maps satellite image showing the area which the photos were taken. My walks take me over the common at the top, into the Abbey House gardens, around the Abbey parkland, along the river, and through the woodlands at the bottom.

About Union Coffee HouseA unique community space and venue to hire in the heart of the city. All the furniture in the cafe is for sale, including the chairs you’ll be sitting on. Their furniture is a mixture of up-cycled/pre-loved and handmade, and they can create bespoke furniture to suit their customers. All their suppliers are local small independent businesses or social enterprises. The charity that they are currently working with is LS14 Trust in Seacroft. It is a quirky place that is quick to make you feel welcome and at home.

click on the map below for directions

This is exhibition is part of Love Arts Festival, a yearly festival held in Leeds as a celebration of mental wellbeing and the arts, click on the image below to see the full the programme.

We visited Bolton Abbey in the midst of Autumn on this latest Yorkshire Excursion. Bolton Abbey sits amongst the 30,000 acres of land owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The land comprises of moorland, woodland and agricultural land, where seven miles of the River Wharfe runs through. We walked through the rather darkly named Valley of Desolation, up some rather steep climbs (well for me, as I have been having some trouble with my legs, thank god for hiking poles), through woods graced with the splendour of autumn colours, and across the River to get ourselves a well earned cuppa. We took Mickey (my dog) on this trip, and he really enjoyed the walk, getting muddy and being outside in the fresh air, this city dog simply loves the countryside. Back home, he’s now fast asleep by my side.

One of things I do seem to find myself drawn to are the geometric lines I find in nature and the division of land we create. Patterns are a recurring theme in my photography.

The Leeds Country Way is a 60 mile recreational footpath around Leeds, it takes in the countryside around Leeds and each of the stages are easily accessible by bus from the city centre. Click on the map below to be taken to the Leeds City Council page for more information about the routes and the walk.

I joined a group of walkers, who go by the name of Leeds Country Wayfarers, on the fourth of the stages (missing the first three due to knee injury). It was a lovely walk and so nice to get to the edges of Leeds to take in the countryside. The weather was fine, but a moody sky offered some wonderful visuals. The group had their first canine walker, in the shape of Mickey my dog – who was so well behaved, I am very proud of him; we also rescued a shopping trolley from the fields to take back to it’s rightful owner (the group, who’s age ranged between 30 and 40, also felt the need to regress back to childhood and go for a lovely ride down the path).

Above. The Leeds Country Way is highlighted with yellow owls on route.

Above. Remnants of the old munitions factory, used during World War 1 and World War 2.

Above. LCW yellow owls, highlighting the route.

Above. Leeds Country Wayfarers walking through one of the public paths on farmland.

Above. Mickey, the new Leeds Country Wayfarers mascot.

Above. Couple take in the splendid views across Leeds.

Above. Travelling in style, resting paws.

Above. The group pose, along with the rescued shopping trolley, which was returned back to it’s owner.

Finally! I have my very own small hound. Adopted from a friend of mine, who could no longer look after him, he’s found himself with all the attention and all the love (not that he was ever lacking in the love before).
One of my photographic obsessions is very definitely animals and in particular dogs. So having my own muse is going to be fantastic.
This first set of images I have edited in a tongue in cheek style, which will all at once make anyone with a heart say ‘awwww’ and think he is adorably cute. Expect to be seeing a lot more of Mickey.